ble's departure, however, a travelling minstrel came to the castle,
who sang of the deeds of former crusaders, and alluded very touchingly
to the loneliness of the wounded knight, Herr Weisenthau, on his couch
of pain. Then the Lady Wendula remembered her eldest son, and the
fraternal tendance which Biberli had given him.

"And so," the servant went on, "in the anxiety of a mother's heart she
urged me to accompany Heinz, her darling, as esquire; and watch over his
welfare."

"Since I could use a pen, I was to write now and then what a mother
desires to hear of a son. She felt great confidence in me, because she
believed that I was true and steadfast. And I have kept in every respect
the vow I then made to the Lady Wendula--that she should not find
herself mistaken in me. I remember that evening as if it were only
yesterday. To keep constantly before my eyes the praise my mistress had
bestowed upon me, I ventured to ask my young master' sister to embroider
the T and the S on the cap and the new coat, and the young lady did so
that very night. Since that time these two initials have gone with me
wherever our horses bear us, and as, after the battle of Marchfield,
Biberli nursed his master back to health with care and toil, he thinks
he can prove to you, his sole sweetheart, that he wears his T and S with
good reason."

In return for these words Katterle granted her friend the fitting reward
with such resignation that it was robbing the moon not to permit her to
look on. Her curiosity, however, was not to remain wholly ungratified;
for when Biberli found that it was time for him to repair to the Town
Hall to learn whether his master, Heinz Schorlin, needed his services,
Katterle came out of the house door with him.

They found much more to say and to do ere they parted.

First, the Swiss maid-servant wished to know how the Emperor Rudolph had
received Heinz Schorlin; and she had the most gratifying news.

During their stay at Lausanne, where he won the victory in a tournament,
Heinz was knighted; but after the battle of Marchfield he became still
dearer to the Emperor, especially when a firm friendship united the
young Swiss to Hartmann, Rudolph's eighteen-year-old son, who was now
on the Rhine. That very day Heinz had received a tangible proof of the
imperial favour, on account of which he had gone to the dance in an
extremely cheerful mood.

This good news concerning the knight, whom her young mistress had
perhap